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Nanotechnology and the Future of Condoms in the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections

OBJECTIVE: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is among the utmost destructive viruses humankind has ever faced in almost four decades. It carries with it profound socioeconomic and public health implications. Unfortunately, there is, currently, no effective cure for HIV infections. This review d...

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Autores principales: Yah, Clarence S., Simate, Geoffrey S., Hlangothi, Percy, Somai, Benesh M.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5875119/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29536957
http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/aam.aam_32_17
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author Yah, Clarence S.
Simate, Geoffrey S.
Hlangothi, Percy
Somai, Benesh M.
author_facet Yah, Clarence S.
Simate, Geoffrey S.
Hlangothi, Percy
Somai, Benesh M.
author_sort Yah, Clarence S.
collection PubMed
description OBJECTIVE: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is among the utmost destructive viruses humankind has ever faced in almost four decades. It carries with it profound socioeconomic and public health implications. Unfortunately, there is, currently, no effective cure for HIV infections. This review discusses the various types of condoms, microbicides, and the potential use of nanoparticle-coated condoms as a means of diminishing the risk of HIV transmission and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) during sexual intercourse. METHODS: We identified 153 articles from 1989 to 2015 indexed in various journal platforms, reports, and magazines. Using the PRISMA guidelines as proxy in performing the research review process, only 53 articles were selected. Ideally, articles that failed to describe the nature and types of condoms, condom failures, nanoparticle-coated condoms, microbicides, and HIV prevention were excluded. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In general, it has been shown that antiretroviral therapy (ART) currently available can only limit transmission and acquisition of HIV strains. Apart from ART treatment, the use of condoms has been identified globally as a cost-effective intervention for reducing the spread of HIV and other STIs. However, while condoms are supposed to be effective, reliable, and easy to use, research has shown that they are attributable to 20% failures including breakages. Nevertheless, other studies have shown that coating condoms with nanoparticles is an important and effective method for reducing condom breakage and HIV/STI transmission during sexual intercourse. CONCLUSIONS: A review of literature cited in this paper has shown that nanotechnology-based condom systems have the potential to prevent the spread of HIV and STIs. Furthermore, the antimicrobial nature of some nanoparticles could provide a safe and efficient way to disrupt and/or inactivate different STIs – including viral, bacterial, and fungal diseases.
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spelling pubmed-58751192018-04-07 Nanotechnology and the Future of Condoms in the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections Yah, Clarence S. Simate, Geoffrey S. Hlangothi, Percy Somai, Benesh M. Ann Afr Med Review Article OBJECTIVE: The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is among the utmost destructive viruses humankind has ever faced in almost four decades. It carries with it profound socioeconomic and public health implications. Unfortunately, there is, currently, no effective cure for HIV infections. This review discusses the various types of condoms, microbicides, and the potential use of nanoparticle-coated condoms as a means of diminishing the risk of HIV transmission and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) during sexual intercourse. METHODS: We identified 153 articles from 1989 to 2015 indexed in various journal platforms, reports, and magazines. Using the PRISMA guidelines as proxy in performing the research review process, only 53 articles were selected. Ideally, articles that failed to describe the nature and types of condoms, condom failures, nanoparticle-coated condoms, microbicides, and HIV prevention were excluded. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: In general, it has been shown that antiretroviral therapy (ART) currently available can only limit transmission and acquisition of HIV strains. Apart from ART treatment, the use of condoms has been identified globally as a cost-effective intervention for reducing the spread of HIV and other STIs. However, while condoms are supposed to be effective, reliable, and easy to use, research has shown that they are attributable to 20% failures including breakages. Nevertheless, other studies have shown that coating condoms with nanoparticles is an important and effective method for reducing condom breakage and HIV/STI transmission during sexual intercourse. CONCLUSIONS: A review of literature cited in this paper has shown that nanotechnology-based condom systems have the potential to prevent the spread of HIV and STIs. Furthermore, the antimicrobial nature of some nanoparticles could provide a safe and efficient way to disrupt and/or inactivate different STIs – including viral, bacterial, and fungal diseases. Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd 2018 /pmc/articles/PMC5875119/ /pubmed/29536957 http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/aam.aam_32_17 Text en Copyright: © 2018 Annals of African Medicine http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License, which allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as the author is credited and the new creations are licensed under the identical terms.
spellingShingle Review Article
Yah, Clarence S.
Simate, Geoffrey S.
Hlangothi, Percy
Somai, Benesh M.
Nanotechnology and the Future of Condoms in the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections
title Nanotechnology and the Future of Condoms in the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections
title_full Nanotechnology and the Future of Condoms in the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections
title_fullStr Nanotechnology and the Future of Condoms in the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections
title_full_unstemmed Nanotechnology and the Future of Condoms in the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections
title_short Nanotechnology and the Future of Condoms in the Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Infections
title_sort nanotechnology and the future of condoms in the prevention of sexually transmitted infections
topic Review Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5875119/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29536957
http://dx.doi.org/10.4103/aam.aam_32_17
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